ARTICLE XIII - BINDING ARBITRATION

SECTION 1 - SUBMISSION TO ARBITRATION

Believing that lawsuits between believers are prohibited by Scripture, all members of this church agree to submit to binding arbitration any matters which cannot otherwise be resolved, and expressly waive any and all rights in law and equity to bringing any civil disagreement before a court of law, except that judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.

SECTION 2 - NOTICE OF ARBITRATION

In the event of any dispute, claim, question, or disagreement arising out of or relating to these Bylaws or any other church matter, the parties shall use their best efforts to settle such disputes, claims, questions, or disagreement as befits Christians. To this effect, they shall consult and negotiate with each other in good faith and, recognizing their mutual interests not to disgrace the name of Christ, seek to reach a just and equitable solution. If they do not reach such solution within a period of sixty (60) days, then upon notice by either party to the other, disputes, claims, questions, or differences shall be finally settled by arbitration as described in Section 1, above, and such Procedures for Arbitration as are adopted pursuant to the following two sections.

SECTION 3 - LIMITATIONS ON ARBITRATION DECISIONS

  1. Should any dispute involve matters of church discipline, the arbitrators shall be limited to determining whether the procedures for church discipline as outlined under Article III, Section 4, were followed.

  2. Should any dispute involve the removal from office of the pastor or any church officer, the arbitrators shall be limited to determining whether the procedures set forth in Article 3 were followed.

SECTION 4 - ARBITRATION PROCEDURES

The procedures for arbitration shall be as adopted by the Pastor and the Board of Deacons.

Before the church agrees to enter into arbitration to resolve the conflict, the following rules should be agreed to by both parties:

  1. The arbitration will be binding on both parties or it is not binding on any party.

  2. The church's attorney can be involved in the process, with the absolute freedom to ask questions.

  3. The issues to be determined in arbitration must be agreed to.

  4. Formal rules of discovery must be waived and the discovery process agreed to.

  5. The arbitration should be handled by three Christian arbitrators, none of whom are close friends with either party or have knowledge of the facts leading to the dispute.

    1. Each party should select one Christian arbitrator, who is not an attorney, with the other party having absolute veto power over the selection on up to three occasions.

    2. The two arbitrators selected by the parties select a third arbitrator who has a good reputation.

  6. Do not sign an arbitration agreement until the arbitrators are agreed upon.

  7. Arbitration must be held at a neutral site.

  8. Arbitration must be completed within a reasonable time, the deadline for which should be stated clearly in the agreement.

  9. The arbitration agreement should clearly state who would pay which expenses, including the prevailing party's legal expenses.

  10. The arbitration agreement should state that both parties waive any right to litigate matters once the arbitration agreement is entered into.